Wristband



Oct. 2, 1951 G, D, DREWRY 2,569,885

WRISTBAND Filed April 19, 1945 Fas. 1.

Fleh. FIGA.

,11 VIII'IIIIIG 31mm tor BB i5, @m7 0MM fw Gttorncg Patented Oct. 2, 1951 WRISTBAND Gordmrzflf Drewry, West.-.Henrietta,z N.. Y; ApplicationAprius, 1945, seriarNo.` ,539;2339 C (o1. 224-4) 2` Claims.

' Thisminvention `frclaires-toa- .ba'indforw strap; such as is useful in holding a wristwatch, locketgor other article on the wrist lor of thewearer,

although it may be appliedalso `toother` suitable `tractive` appearance, more easily` annif-quickly appliedland removed than priorid'evieesf-oif this generalcharacter.

These and other desirable objectswa're Aaccomplishedi'blyv thef construction disclosed as an illustrative embodiment of the invention in the following description and in the accompanying drawingseforminga. partyhereci'im which;

Fig. 1 is an edge View of agpreferredform of wrist baud` accord-ing to. the present invention, showing itin closed position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view inpartially openediposi- Fig; Bis a cross section-taken' substantially on the line 3;-3 ofFign 1` rand Fig; 4 isa similar cross section; illustrating any alternative' shape of band;

The same reference numerals throughout the views indicate the same parts.

The wrist band of the present invention is to be distinguished at the outset from those bands or bracelets which, on the one hand, require catches, clasps, or buckles to keep them closed, and from those which, on the other hand, are kept closed by special springs or resilient members other than or supplementary to the band members themselves. It is also to be distinguished from those bands which must be kept focibly distended to an appreciable extent while being put on or removed from the wrist, and from those bands which extend only part way around the wrist, rather than encircling the entire circumference of the wrist. As distinguished from them, the improved band of the present invention completely encircles the wrist, requires but slight force to open it (without requiring 2 1 manipulation oibuckles, catchessetc.) yandwlfen itrhasl been lopened it.:remains open, readily placea'bleronbr `removable. .from the wrist, until 'aislignt force-fis.1 applied to:` close it.

The. band comprises.; in its.` preferred form;v a pairs of: cooperating .f curved members Il I andflI, pivoted either directly to each` other: orpreferably `tonthe ends of 1an intermediate: objectwsuch asauwristwatch or looket I5", by. means oil simple pivots. Iland; I9', requiring'no..springsfinfconnectionv with thesepivots to tendrto'lturn` tl-ie membersy H andlilinonel direction vor the other.

Both roi the. strap members .Il Il rand :I32 arelmade of resilientorspringy material;` such as resilient metallrorl resilient molded plasticfmateri-al, and their normal f undeformed Shaper thewshape shown in Figs: 11and12, somewhat ellipticalllso as to fit' the 'normali` wrist'.` of generally velliptical cross section', each of fthe straps l. I? Il f and' I3 extend through more than half," and" preferably` about three-quarters, of thecircumf'erence of tire-ellipse, as readily seen in the drawings. Both-straps---Ifl and` I3f1are madef'sui'eiently wide Gas shown in Fig. 3)y so that one overlies-the otherV rmlylwith 'no danger-.of slipping. laterally 01T of `the-otltler l It', however, Vit is desiredttomake'l the strapst some- Wl'iatf narrower than the proportions shown in Figi 3; this mayi be done by'ma-kfing; the inner strapfII with an outer surface which is convex iii-cross section, asindicated at I'Ia in Fig; 4; and

` bynrakingthe-'outerstrap` I3 with an inner surface whiclfiis` concaverr cross' section, as indicated at I3a in Fig. 4, so that the curvature of the cooperating surfaces of the two straps will tend to hold them against lateral displacement relative to each other. The two straps are of substantially the same configuration so that one hugs closely against the other as indicatedin Fig. 1.

The operation of the device is as follows: The two strips II and I3 are opened up and turned back away from each other, and likewise turned back relative to any object to which they may be pivoted, such as the wrist watch or locket I5. The band I I is then slipped over the wrist, which is done readily without any particular dstension required, since the open space between the pivot Il and the extreme free end 2| of this Vband is amply sufficient to allow easy passage of the wrist, with little or no distension of the band. Then.

with the band II on the wrist, the wrist watch or other article I is folded down onto the wrist and the other band I3 is closed around the outside of the first .band II. During the closing operation, the extreme free end 23 of the band I3 will slide over the outer surface of the band II, and the band II will act somewhat as a cam, distending or opening up the band I3 during the closing operation, until the end 23 of the .band I3 passesV over the high point of the cam formed by the strap II, after which the further closing motion of the strap I3 permits this strap to con-f`v tract once more to its normal shape, until nally the strap I3 lies tight against the outside of the strap II, as indicated at Fig. 1 V l Referring especially to Fig. 2, which shows the straps II and I3 at an intermediateposition in' the closing or opening operation, it is seen that if pressure is applied to the outer strap I3'in the general direction of the arrow 25, such pressure ,will cause. the free end 23 to ride leftwardly along the lower outer surface of the strap I I, and during such motion the strap I I will cam the end 23 outwardly, farther away from the pivot I9, until the high point of the member II with respect to the pivot I9 is reached. The dotted Vline 21 in Fig. 2 represents an arc of Ya circle struck from the pivot I9 as a center, and indicates that the high point is somewhere in the vicinity .of the' arrow 29, but it will not be at exactly this point because as the strap I3 closes, it will coact ,with the free end 2| of the strap I I to swing this strap IIl somewhat in a clockwise direction about fits pivot I1 with respect to the wrist watch I5, vso that by the time the end 23 of the strap I3 Vreaches the arrow 29 (which is the apparent high point when the parts are placed as in Fig. 2)V

the pivot I9 and the strap II will have moved relatively to each other and the high point will likewise have moved to some extent, but it will Istill be in the same approximate location as indicated.

When the strap I3 has closed completely on the strap II, to the position shown in Fig. 1, the

.resilience of the parts keeps them closed, without the necessity for any clasps, or any springs Vother than the bands or straps II and I3 themselves. This is so because in any opening motion of the Y strap I3, the free end 23 thereof must be cammed farther away from the pivot I9 (against the spring force of the strap I3 itself) until the high point of the strap Il has been passed, and thus .until such high point has been passed the resilience of the strap automatically tends to hold itself closed. But by the exertion of slight force, Vthe strap I3 may instantly be opened up until the end 23 thereof has passed the high point of the member II, and then the two straps may be completely opened to remove the unit from the wrist. The strap I3 may be placed inside and the strap II outside, if desired, and the same action will result, both straps II and I3 being similarly made of the same resilient or springy material. This interchangeability of the two straps II and I3 is true, of course, of the iiat cross sectional form shown in Fig. 3, but if narrower straps of concave-convex cross section are used, as indicated in Fig. 4, then the design is such that the strap Ila should normally always be the inside one, and the strap I3a should be outside.

` It is seen from the foregoing disclosure that a construction is provided which admirably fulvvfills'the above-mentioned objects of the invention.

:It is to be understood that the foregoing disclosure is given by way of illustrative example only, rather than by way of limitation, and that without departing from the invention, the construction may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.;` I

. What is claimed is: l. A wrist band including an intermediate object such as a watch and two resilient members pivotally connected to opposite ends of said object and adapted to swing relative to each other in substantially the same plane, said members being curved to form, with said object, a closed loop to encircle a` wrist with the free ends of said members overlapping, each member extending through more than half of the circumference of said loop whereby the resiliency of said members will maintain said loop closed without the use of other means and will permit said free ends to be .readily separated to open said loop for passage .of said loop.

GORDON D. DREWRY.

REFERENCES CITED The'following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 139,888 Grant June 17, 1873 246,937 Boniface et al. Sept. 13, 1881 470,170 Alderman r Mar. 8, 1892 1,384,812 Swartz July 19, 1921 1,994,826 Lowe Mar. 19, 1935 

